CDBG Grant awarded to Charles City Housing Department

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

A grant of almost $250,000 was recently awarded to the Charles City Housing Department that could help rehabilitate at least six single-family owner-occupied homes.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded the Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $232,700. That total has a local match of $13,800 that raises the total grant money to $246,500.

“It’s not a remodel program. It’s a rehab program,” said Charles City Housing Director Heidi Nielsen. “We don’t go in there and tear out walls and make it look pretty. We do the minimum standards.”

Each of the six houses is allocated $23,999 for the upgrades. Nielsen said there is a possibility for a seventh house to get rehabbed if money is still remaining after upgrades to the six houses are complete.

“It’s basically just to preserve the housing stock that we have because our housing stock is so old,” said Nielsen.

The homes in the neighborhoods that are eligible for the grant money must not lie in the floodplain and are located from Sixth Avenue moving north to 10th Avenue. Other homes eligible are located from 15th Avenue to 18th Avenue.

“You have to meet a certain criteria to be awarded, so most of the homes need to be low to moderate income in that area,” said Nielsen.

Nielsen said the work that will be done depends on the home, but will focus on mechanical and electrical issues inside the homes as well as the exterior.

“We typically go in and we will look at the outside of the home — the siding, windows, roof — anything that’s deteriorated,” said Nielsen.

Nielsen said 10 homes had requested a pre-application.

Each eligible applicant family is given a ranking based on income, assets, tenure, household characteristics and project impact. The families that receive the six highest rankings will be selected to participate in the program.

“We’re just so much in the preliminary verification stages right now,” Nielsen added. “If anyone lives in this area, they can still apply as long as they meet these eligibility requirements.”

An applicant must have owned and resided in the property for at least six months prior to the date of their application for assistance. After the work on the home is completed, the property must be remain the principal owner’s place for a period of five years.

“We actually put a mortgage on the property for five years. So the city has interest in that property for five years. The reason for that is so the city doesn’t invest all these funds and then they turn around and sell the house for a profit,” said Nielsen.

The block grant program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Iowa Economic Development Authority is responsible for administering the funds.

The Charles City Housing Department is partnering with the North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG) to help administer the program along with the Code Enforcement Department.

Since 2001 Charles City has received four separate grants totaling $1,356,500 to rehabilitate 47 single-family homes.